Sp this was originally one super long chapter, but I didn't like that, so I split it into two parts. Both parts are a little longer than normal, but I figured you would all be okay with that. I just want to thank all of you who review, because you guys are really amazing and make me want to write even more.
He had lost count of how many times he had seen Natalia Flores, but this time, he wanted to kiss her.
She was staring at her console screen, running a weapons status check on the ship, her hands shaking slightly. Every now and then she would glance up and over her shoulder at Kirk, now captain, and Chekov could tell by the way she bit her bottom lip that she was still uneasy.
"Captain, Mr. Scott has already started his improvements on the tactical engines." She said, her voice surprisingly steady. "The crews down there have already brought us back to 60% power capacity and the number is climbing, though erratically."
"Ah, well that's good." Scotty, as Kirk had christened him, was still toweling off his head, though he had changed into a Starfleet uniform. "What's your name again?"
"Ensign Flores, sir." She said, reading the new alert on her screen. "Mr. Scott, it seems that one of your engineers needs clarification."
"Ah, damn." He shook his head. "You told me you had a good crew down there, lad." He said to Kirk, taking the earpiece Uhura handed him and starting to argue with the poor man.
Kirk, McCoy, and Sulu were standing towards the back of the bridge, arguing over their next move. Scotty must have cleared up the issue quickly, because as Natalia watched, he returned to the conversation, still running the towel over his head.
Chekov had the ship on autopilot and was at one of the work screens, his pen flying across as he ran through any and every idea that crossed his mind. Natalia saw that the weapons log was set to update every minute, and went over to join her friend. At least, she thought that was what he was. She wasn't quite sure anymore. After their initial time alone, they had returned to the bridge and hadn't gotten a chance to say more than few words, none of which were particularly romantic. He was muttering in Russian when she approached, and only stopped when he caught sight of her from the other side, as she studies his work backwards.
"We are in pursuit." She said softly, and Chekov returned to his work, realizing that she wasn't addressing him directly. "We need to find a way to trick their sensors into not recognizing us, or avoid them all together." She shook her head. "All without knowing what we are actually dealing." She picked up her own pen, and walked around to the other side, looking at one of the ideas that had been moved aside. "Do you mind if-?" She started quietly, but Chekov shook his head, instantly making a separator that would split the board in two and allow them to work independently. She opened the box up, looking through a long list of equations and whispering to herself in Spanish. The two worked side by side for quite a while, the two languages curling around each other into a one solid screen of sound. Natalia was the first to break the pattern.
"You've got something here." She was nearing the end of his original thoughts, and crossing something out. "About magnetic fields. You miscalculated, though. You copied the wrong answer for the trajectory of the Romulan ship." She showed him where he had found the path, then what he had written in, and sure enough they were two different results. She wrote in the correct response, and recalculated the rest of the equations. "See the difference?" He nodded, watching as she pulled a few things into place.
"So the Romulan vessel is now much closer to Saturn than I expected." Chekov reached up and opened another box that he had rejected, adding the new information and smiling slowly.
"With the Romulans passing by Saturn, it would be easy to position the ship behind one of the planet's satellites and use the magnetic properties created by the rings to disguise us from the Narada." Natalia said, looking at his diagrams and equations. She looked at Chekov, who was staring at her, eyes wide. "Am I wrong?"
"No." He shook his head, and gently kissed her cheek. "You're very right." He lingered for a just a moment, his hand at her waist, before running off, calling for Kirk.
"Yes, what is it Chekov?" Kirk had quickly become familiar with the crew, and knew everyone's name by then.
"Sir, we've got something." Natalia said, joined him.
"Based on the Narada's course from Vulcan," Chekov started. "We have projected the Nero will travel pass Saturn."
"Like you said, we need to stay invisible to Nero, or he'll destroy us." Natalia said, locking her gaze on Kirk.
"If Mr. Scott can get us to warp 4, and if we can drop out of warp behind one of Saturn's moons, say, Titan, the magnetic distortion from the planets rings will make invisible to Nero's sensors." Chekov explained.
"From there, as long as the drill is not activated, we can beam aboard the enemy ship." Natalia finished.
"Aye, that might work." Scotty was nodding appreciatively at the pair. There was a moment of silence as everyone went over the plan, looking for flaws.
"Wait a minute." McCoy broke the silence, looking at the pair with a skeptical expression. "How old are you two?"
"Seventeen, sir." The pair answered together.
"Oh, good." McCoy clearly wasn't impressed. "The wonder twins are seventeen, Jim."
"With all due respect, Doctor." Natalia said, locking her gaze on McCoy, who accepted her unspoken challenge. "Just because we are young doesn't mean we are stupid and certainly doesn't mean we are wrong." McCoy kept his gaze for a bit, and then something in his eyes changed. What had been speculation turned to a strange sort of reluctant respect.
"Doctor." Natalia spun on her heel, surprised to see Spock standing in the entrance of the turbolift. He had disappeared soon after resigning as captain, and she hadn't expected him to come back at all. "Mr. Chekov and Ms. Flores are correct." If she hadn't been surprised before, she would surely be shocked now. He stepped forward, approaching the collection of officers. "I can confirm their telemetry. If Mr. Sulu is able to maneuver us into position I can beam aboard Nero's ship, steal back the black hole device and if possible bring back Captain Pike." Natalia inspected him as he spoke, trying to get under his skin again. She had seen with her own eyes that he did indeed have emotions, and now she was determined to see that he had them all the time. As she watched, she saw something in his eyes that hadn't been there before. It looked like a streak of resolve, not unlike the one that was in the startling blue eyes of her current captain.
Kirk blinked, giving him a second to think. "I won't allow you to do that, Mr. Spock."
"Romulans and Vulcans share a common ancestry. Our cultural similarities will make it easier for me to access the ship's computer to locate the device." He paused, and the streak of resolve flickered, growing brighter. "Also, my mother was human, making Earth the only home I have left." There was a flicker though the group, and Kirk took a step forward.
"I'm coming with you." He announced.
Spock raised an eyebrow. "I would cite regulation, but I know you will simply ignore it." Natalia could have sworn the ghost of a smile flickered across his face.
Kirk gave a slight laugh. "See? We are getting to know each other." Kirk gave Spock a clap on the shoulder, causing the Vulcan to raise his eyebrow again, confusion and surprise flashing across his eyes. Natalia let out the smallest of laughs, which did not escape his notice. She averted her gaze, looking down at the floor, unable to pull the smirk from her lips.
"Scotty, I need you back down with the engines, see if we've got enough juice for warp four." Kirk said, rounding the corner and going back to the command chair. "Then I want you in the transporter room, ready to beam Mr. Spock and me onboard. Chekov, plot our course, making sure that we are above Titan."
"Captain, Titan has a dense atmosphere." Natalia said, making her way back to her station. "We should avoid entering too deep."
"Make sure that happens, then." He said. "Sulu, get ready for Scotty's okay. He'll let us know when she's ready."
It didn't take long for the Enterprise to be ready. Natalia set everything to standby again, ready to go with a few quick commands should the need arise. The Enterprise was in warp before Natalia could blink, and before long, she heard Sulu warn the crew of the approaching stop.
"All stop in three…two…one." Sulu counted down, and on three they appeared in Titan's atmosphere. "Give me one quarter impulse burst for five seconds. I'll do the rest with thrusters. On my mark." He said, sliding his gaze to Chekov, who nodded slightly.
"Aye." He said softly, his hands moving over the controls in a steady manner. Slowly, Sulu steered them out of the cloud matter, positioning the starship just above Titan's atmosphere.
"Transporter room, we are in position above Titan." Sulu said into the intercom system.
"Really?" Natalia smiled lightly as Scotty's voice came through the speakers. "Fine job Mr. Sulu, well done." The chatter continued as Kirk's voice came over the speakers.
"Whatever happens Mr. Sulu, if you think we have the tactical advantage, you fire on that ship even if we're still on board. That's an order."
He turned to Natalia, who looked up at the view screens, her eyes focusing intently on a spot in the dark around them, as though she could see the enemy ship. She looked back, and Sulu saw a hard wall of determination fall over her dark eyes. She nodded, silently letting him know that she was ready.
"Yes sir." He answered.
"Otherwise, we'll contact the Enterprise when we're ready to be beamed back." Kirk continued, his voice sounding much older than it should.
"Good luck." Sulu said, and the link was terminated. There was a deep sigh from somewhere, as the bridge was left alone, waiting.